077 [Video]

[mountain_sage]

That...holiday is coming up, is it not? The one where we exchange gifts?

[But for the life of him, Saleh can't remember the name of that holiday. His voice quivers a bit, slightly ashamed.]

I...I'm not sure I know what gifts to give this year.

[Or how many friends he even has to give them to, for that matter. He counts friends on his fingers.] Eleytheria...

[Great Dragon, is that it?]

...What should I do?

Comments

[Voice]

[winds_voice]

I am trying to decide on what to give myself... It is harder than I feel it should be. Surely the act of giving should be enough?

[Isn't that the point of the holiday? One of the points anyway... to share and show appreciation for loved ones.

Hearing his name, Eley hopes that Saleh isn't deliberating over a gift for himself especially.]

As for me, I do not need anything in particular. Your thoughts and your care are enough. For what to do... I am not sure if I can help. I am simply trying to learn more about this holiday as I did the first time I encountered it. Perhaps you can discover new traditions and join in with those?

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

That would be a good point...

[But he still worries about giving something that people won't like. Strange, as he didn't quite feel that way last year...]

I have been here for years now. I feel like I should know it...

[Voice]

[winds_voice]

In that case... perhaps it is a side effect of your lifestyle. Though I will never seek to devalue the way you live - you are a man of peace and I have great respect for that - to live in isolation... it is not always easy to walk among others after that. It can become difficult to see things the way others do.

[He speaks as if he knows this personally. Nobody was as far removed from people in his world as the Spirits, and even now he finds himself frustrated at times that things do not come very easily to him, things that others seem to find instinctive.]

You do not have to turn away from that lifestyle but... perhaps try to bring new things into it. Try to open yourself, even if only a little.

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

And yet...I have found myself less isolated in the years I've been here. I've become used to being with others...having friends...that this isolation now feels strange.

[He's been accustomed to solitude and now he's not so accustomed to it.]

Open myself? How? I have aided New Feathers and kidnapped victims upon their return. Most of the time, I never hear anything from them again...

[Voice]

[rutagraveolens]

[Rue's not familiar with the holiday in question, but she does know about gift-giving.]

You could make something! Those are always nice gifts.

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

Make something...?

[Like what? Other than magic, he's not good at making anything...]

[Voice]

[rutagraveolens]

Uh-huh. Like a picture or a lucky charm or something like that. In District 11, we made bracelets for friends.

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

Bracelets...

[One can almost see a bulb light up over his head.]

That is a good idea. Thank you, miss...

[Video]

[cuteisawayoflife]

Well, you could take stock of what they have and get them something they don't! Especially if they really need it, like new boots or moisturizer.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

That could work, I suppose...?

[Though he sounds uneasy about recording people's personal belongings. It's none of his business...]

[Video]

[cuteisawayoflife]

Of course it will! That's how I bought Stacy's present every year.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

Isn't it...uncomfortable, looking through others' personal belongings? Do others do the same for you?

[Video]

[tsunsandsteals]

Maybe ask them if there's something they want but haven't been able to get?

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

[That's probably the best suggestion he's heard so far.]

Hmm. I do like the sound of that.

[Speaking of which...]

...Is there anything you need?

[Video]

[tsunsandsteals]

[Oh, right...let him think for a moment.]

I guess socks? Mine are starting to wear a little thin and it's getting cold.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

Socks. Very well.

[He's making a list and checking it twice.]

[written, camera obscured]

[readytobe]

You are not required to participate in holidays.

[written]

[mountain_sage]

...I suppose not. But I've always had a respect for traditions, whether or not they are my own.

Video

[tea_lover64]

Gifts are nice, but they do not necessarily have to be something material.

Video

[mountain_sage]

That is true...

[He's always believed that nature was the greatest gift, but it's not something he can actually give.]

What shall I give then...?

Video

[tea_lover64]

Your time and effort are some of the most valuable things you can give. Indeed here, with the absence of money, it is the essence of giving.

Video

[mountain_sage]

That is true. I do believe I have an idea now. Thank you.

[Voice]

[painfully]

There's a holiday coming up?

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

Yes. A holiday in which people exchange gifts with one another. It is not a holiday from my own world, so sadly, the name eludes me.

[Voice]

[painfully]

I don't... I don't remember anything like that, where I'm from. I don't know.

[a pause]

Does everyone here celebrate it?